Tag: TSX:SWY

Despite continued economic uncertainty in 2015, demand for diamonds has grown more over the past three years than any previous three-year period. With diamond supply expected to run out on land in as little as 15 years, Canadian diamond mining companies may become the most viable source for diamond mining.

Canadian diamond mines such as Gahcho Kue in the Northwest Territories have been pulling their weight, keeping Canada on the international stage for the rough-cut gems. Gahcho Kue, the largest diamond mine in the world, officially opened on September 20, 2016, jumpstarting prices for its owner, Anglo American (LON:AAL) and its Canadian partner, Mountain Province Diamonds (TSX:MPV), who have seen their stock climb 280 and 90 percent respectively since December 2015.

The mine’s opening comes at a time of increased volatility in the industry due to fluctuating global growth, even though rough diamond prices have rebounded 4.7 percent this year.

So how will Canadian diamond mining companies fare on the international stage in the future?

An international leader in diamonds

The history of diamond mining in Canada is surprisingly short. Geologist Charles Fipke discovered the first economic deposit of diamonds in the country's Northwest Territories in 1991, according to NPR. That set off the biggest staking rush in the history of North America. Almost eight years later, the first diamond mine opened in Canada.

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Since then, Canada has become the third-largest diamond producer by value, coming after only Botswana and Russia. However, mining in the Northwest Territories isn't easy. Because of its harsh conditions, mining companies have to spend months preparing and bringing in supplies and equipment in order to operate. The government also maintains strict operational requirements to protect the wildlife around the mines, as per NPR. Fortunately, over the years, diamond mining has spread to other parts of Canada, including Quebec and Saskatchewan.

Canada's newest and biggest mine, Gahcho Kue, is 300 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The newest mine is expected to reinforce Canada's position as the world's third largest diamond producer by value and fifth largest by volume.

But what makes the mine especially important is that it will be able to offset production drop-off as two of Canada's major diamond mines, Diavik and Ekati, are approaching the end of their productive lives. Although the mine is smaller than both, its three deposits are set to produce an abundance of diamonds - which means Canadian mines will still be an important factor for investors.

Diamonds: A limited global supply

As diamonds become harder and more costly to extract, very little new supply is expected until 2020. Global supply of diamonds will peak in 2017 and plateau in 2019, as the world’s largest miner and trader of the precious stone reins in production to combat rising production costs. As more rough stones lie in ever deeper mines, the cost of extracting them is increasing, said Bruce Cleaver, chief executive of De Beers Group since July. This may drive up diamond prices in the future.

De Beers, which holds a 51 percent stake in Gahcho Kue, now has around a 30 percent share of the market for genuine rough diamonds - but the company's challenges have been compounded by competition from synthetic diamonds, which sell for about 30 percent less than the real thing. Recently, the company has started searching for diamonds in the ocean as its supply dries up in Africa, but still says that Canada is the most viable option for the gems.

Opportunities for Canadian diamond mining companies to sparkle

Although volatility for diamonds may become the new normal, De Beers is optimistic that its Canadian mine will continue to keep the country on an international tier. It also plans to extend its drilling operations in Saskatchewan this year, so investment options continue to sparkle for diamonds.

Several Canadian diamond mining companies are also leading the way despite recent volatility in the market and the difficulty of mining conditions.

Stornoway describes itself as a leading Canadian diamond exploration and development company, and its flagship asset is its 100-percent-owned Renard Diamond Mine. Located near the Otish Mountains in Quebec, the Renard kimberlite pipes were discovered in 2001 after five years of grassroots exploration in the area. The Renard Diamond Mine was formally opened on October 19, 2016.

Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, this Canadian company works in diamond exploration and development. Its main asset is a joint venture with De Beers called the Gahcho Kué project. It is located in Canada's Northwest Territories, and the companies believe it will be the world's largest and richest new diamond mine.

De Beers anticipates that Gahcho Kue will produce approximately 54 million carats of rough diamonds over its lifetime, which is more than $10 billion worth. Gahcho Kue has already moved into production last month and is expected to reach a commercial level of production in the first quarter of 2017. Production is planned to continue until 2028.

Also a diamond exploration and development company, Peregrine Diamonds' focus is on developing kimberlites on its 100 percent owned Chidliak project in Nunavut, Canada. Peregrine first discovered kimberlites on the project in 2008, and a a total of 74 kimberlites have been identified since, 45 of which are dimondiferous. The company released a PEA for the Chidliak Phase One Diamond Development in July 2016, and highlighted an after-tax Net Present Value of C$ 471 million, Internal Rate of Return of 29.8 percent, and a capital payback period of two years.

This Canadian natural resource company focuses on the exploration and development of diamond resources in Saskatchewan. Currently, its main projects are the FALC joint venture and the Star diamond project. At FALC, exploration has already identified over 70 kimberlites, with macro diamonds — diamonds that cannot pass through 0.5-millimeter square mesh — recovered from 34 of them.

The Star diamond property consists of 23 contiguous mineral dispositions across nearly 23,000 acres, according to Shore's website. An advanced evaluation program and prefeasibility study show diamond recovery of 10,582.67 carats.

The Company is performing a 2016 core drilling program to further expand the internal stratigraphy of the Orion South and Star Kimberlites. During the first quarter of 2016, Shore announced the completion of five holes, totalling 1,257.97 metres of drilling, on the Star West portion of the Star Kimberlite.

One province over, Grizzly Discoveries' Buffalo Head Hills property, located in Alberta, has significant land holdings of over 220,000 acres of metallic and industrial mineral permits for its Diamond project. Grizzly’s permits contain seven kimberlites, of which two, the BE-02 and BE-03, are considered highly diamondiferous and warrant future bulk sampling.

A leading global mining and metals company, Rio Tinto has assets around the world. The company operates in more than 40 countries across six continents, its website notes. Its Diamonds & Minerals group works on mining, refining and marketing operations.

In Canada, Rio Tinto has a stake in one major diamond property. The Diavik diamond mine is located in Canada's Northwest Territories, not far from the Arctic Circle, and Rio Tinto has a 60-percent interest in it. The company's subsidiary, Diavik Diamond Mines, shares the joint venture with Dominion Diamond Diavik Limited Partnership. In 2015, the company unveiled an 187.7 carat gem-quality rough diamond from the mine, which is one of the largest diamonds ever discovered in Canada.

In April 2013, BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP,ASX:BHP,LSE:BLT) completed the sale of its diamond business to Canadian diamond mining company Dominion Diamond (formerly Harry Winston Diamond Corporation), which, according to its website, it is the largest publicly listed diamond mining pure play by market capitalization. It has interests in two major diamond mines that are in the production stage and are located near the Arctic Circle in the Northwest Territories.

One asset is Dominion Diamond's 80-percent-owned Ekati diamond mine, which the company had to shut down temporarily in 2016 due to a fire. The company expects it to restart by the end of September after an estimated total cost of repair of $15 million. The process plant shutdown negatively impacted earnings and cash flow in the period.

North Arrow is focused on identifying and evaluating diamond opportunities in Canada, its website notes, with its key projects including the Lac de Gras and Redemption joint ventures, both located near the Ekati and Diavik mines. It is also focused on its Pikoo, Qilalugaq and Timiskaming projects, which are under option from Stornoway Diamond.

Dunnedin Ventures is an exploration company advancing the Kahuna Diamond Project in Nunavut, Canada. The Kahuna Project is an advanced-stage project that has known diamond-bearing kimberlites, and large size diamond potential. The company also has an option agreement to earn a 100 percent interest in the Kahuna Project, also in Nunavut. Of note, Charles Fipke, who discovered Canada's first diamond mine, Ekati, serves as a Technical Advisor to the company.

This is an updated version of an article originally published on September 3, 2013.

Stornoway Diamond (TSX:SWY) celebrated the official opening of its Renard Diamond Mine on Wednesday.

As quoted in the press release:
[The ceremony was] held in the presence of M. Pierre Arcand, Quebec’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and Minister responsible for the Plan Nord, as well as current and former staff

Stornoway Diamond (TSX:SWY) has announced that processing of ore has commenced at the Renard Diamond project.

As quoted in the press release:
This marks the beginning of a processing ramp-up designed to achieve 100% of plant nameplate capacity (2.16Mtonnes/annum at 78% plant utilization) within 9 months. Commercial production at Renard is defined

LONGUEUIL, Québec, June 29, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Stornoway Diamond Corporation (TSX:SWY) (the “Corporation” or “Stornoway”) would like to remind holders of its common share purchase warrants, issued on July 8, 2014 and exercisable at C$0.90 per share (the “Warrants”) (TSX:SWY.WT.A), of their expiry at 5:00 pm (Eastern time) on

LONGUEUIL, Québec, June 22, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Stornoway Diamond Corporation (TSX:SWY) (the “Corporation” or “Stornoway”) is pleased to announce the completion of Pre-Operational Verification (“POV”) at the Renard Project diamond process plant and the formal commencement of plant commissioning. All principal plant equipment and control systems have now been installed

LONGUEUIL, Quebec, June 06, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Stornoway Diamond Corporation (TSX:SWY) (the “Corporation” or “Stornoway”) is pleased to provide an update on operational readiness at the Renard Diamond Project ahead of expected first diamond production later this year.
At the end of May overall construction progress stood at 96% compared

Stornoway Diamond (TSX:SWY) has announced the discovery of kimberlite at its Adamantin Project located south of the Renard Diamond Project and west of the Route 167 Extension in Quebec. To date, 11 distinct kimberlite bodies have been identified.

As quoted in the press release:
Till sampling at Adamantin during 2015 confirmed the

LONGUEUIL, Quebec, May 05, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Stornoway Diamond Corporation (TSX:SWY); (the “Corporation” or “Stornoway”) is pleased to announce the discovery of kimberlite at its 100% owned Adamantin Project located approximately 100km south of the Renard Diamond Project and 25km west of the Route 167 Extension in north central

Stornoway Diamond Corp. (TSX:SWY) announced a revised construction schedule for its Renard diamond project. The cost of construction has been reduced as the company has consistently been ahead of schedule for several months.

Stornoway Diamond Corp. (TSX:SWY) released its results for the quarter ended October 31, 2015. According to the release, progress at the company’s Renard diamond project remains on schedule and within budget.

Paul Zimnisky Diamond Analytics released a report that looks at the state of the diamond industry heading into the end of 2015. In the short term, diamond prices are expected to be influenced by “the actual resulting demand of the global holiday season.”

A recap of Red Cloud Mining’s Fall Mining Showcase, held last week in Toronto.

Capital markets solutions provider Red Cloud Mining Capital held its Fall Mining Showcase last week in Toronto, and it was packed with presentations from companies, as well as other key members of the mining industry.

Highlights were a keynote address from former Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, and a lunch panel on investing in mining from a private equity perspective, hosted by Northern Miner publisher Anthony Vaccaro.

A total of 18 companies presented at the event, and though most were gold-focused companies — including Integra Gold (TSXV:ICG) and Richmont Mines (TSX:RIC,NYSEMKT:RIC) — other commodities were also represented by companies like Royal Nickel (TSX:RNX) and Stornoway Diamond (TSX:SWY). Overall, the event provided a good overview of where those companies stand in today's difficult market.

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Baird talks mining in Canada

As mentioned, the event kicked off with a keynote from Baird, who is certainly well qualified to comment on the state of the Canadian mining industry. In addition to his former post as Canadian foreign affairs minister, he's currently senior advisor to Bennett Jones, an advisory board member of Barrick Gold (TSX:ABX,NYSE:ABX), global strategic advisor to Hatch Interactive Technologies (TSXV:TSQ) and a member of the corporate boards of CP Rail (TSX:CP), FWD Group and PineBridge Investments (TSX:PRF.UN).

Stay tuned for a full recap of his speech, including his thoughts on environmental activists, foreign governments and the outcome of the upcoming Canadian federal election.

Private equity consists of investors and funds that either make investments in private companies or conduct buyouts of public companies. The panelists said that while those involved in private equity tend to have a reputation for being ruthless, that is an unfair representation.

They drew a clear distinction between private equity generalists, like Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG), KKR & Co. (NYSE:KKR) and Blackstone Group (NYSE:BX), and private equity groups that are focused specifically on the mining industry. They argued that mining-focused private equity groups have a much fuller appreciation of the unique risks associated with the resource sector, allowing them to be more supportive investment partners.

Furthermore, the panelists discussed some of the benefits of private equity in general. Those include guaranteed long-term capital, and a strong, supportive partner if the market should take a turn for the worse. They stressed that private equity investors are fully cognizant of the risks that come with specific projects and try to remain prepared for all eventualities, both good and bad.

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Despite those advantages, many public companies remain wary of getting involved with private equity. However, private equity firms in the resource sector continue to court high-quality projects. And the investors behind private equity groups remain keen on investing in strong mining projects. As a result, the panelists believe private equity may be an avenue even public companies should consider exploring.

Securities Disclosure: I, Morag McGreevey, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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